Standoff ends with arrests of four people

Authorities locked down six city blocks during a Thursday night standoff with four people who barricaded themselves in a Central Lubbock home.

Investigators with the South Plains Auto Theft Task Force arrested the four - three men and one woman - who held up inside the home at 3817 32nd St. for more than three hours.

Authorities believed at least one person in the home was a heavy drug user, was armed and had a propensity for violence, Lt. Roy Bassett said.

Investigators with the South Plains Auto Theft Task Force, backed by the Texas Department of Public Safety, attempted to execute a search warrant at the residence about 3 p.m. Thursday.

The warrant was issued based on information that a trailer outside the home and a motorcycle in the garage were stolen.

When investigators attempted to serve the warrant, the people inside the home refused to come to the door.

Authorities had also received second- and third-hand reports that the people inside the home threatened violence against the investigators.

"Since there is a history of guns we're going to err on the side of caution," Bassett said.

Law enforcement, including Lubbock police and the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office, were called to the home.

Members of the LPD SWAT team armed with automatic rifles and DPS troopers carrying shotguns stood by while negotiators attempted to contact those inside the home.

"We are always going to bring as many people out here that we need to get the job done," Bassett said of the strong police presence that included a mobile command center and one armored vehicle.

Police later discredited the threats of violence and at no point did they believe anyone was being held against their will, Bassett said.

"We feel that continuing this situation is not in the best interest of anyone involved," he said, citing that the risk of executing the search warrant outweighed the risk to officers and to those inside the home.